“Don’t expect mediocre people to support world class goals”

“Some people say, "Give the customers what they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.”

MM: “Back in the 1980s, Bill Gates gave me a ride to the airport, and the radio was missing from the car. Big gaping hole in the dashboard. I said ‘Bill what happened, did you get ripped off?”

BG: “No, I had it taken out.”

MM: “Why did you have it taken out?”

BG: “I drive from my home to the office, which is seven minutes and 32 seconds. And then I’ll drive from the office to the airport which is however long. If I’ve got the radio, I’m afraid that I’ll switch it on and I won’t be thinking about Microsoft.”

“That’s obsession.”